FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2007
Public meeting on Avondale Mill cleanup set
COLUMBIA—A public meeting will be held in Graniteville Thursday Sept. 20, 2007 to discuss possible environmental testing at the former Avondale Mill property in Aiken County, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported today.
“A company known as Community Environmental Company, LLC, plans to buy some 253 acres of the property,” said Craig V. Dukes, community relations coordinator in DHEC’s Bureau of Land and Waste Management. “Some of the property has environmental contamination from some of the processes while the mill was operating.”
Dukes said the meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the gymnasium of Leavelle McCampbell Middles School, 82 Canal Street in Graniteville.
Dukes said Community Environmental Company wants six voluntary cleanup contracts with DHEC to cover environmental testing at six locations. Those locations include the old Vaucluse, Greg, Granite, Hickman and Warren Mill buildings along with land that was used for landfills, wastewater lagoons and equipment maintenance.
“This meeting will address only the voluntary cleanup contracts and will not affect any other decision DHEC will make to allow Community Environmental Company to proceed with their plans,” Dukes said.
Dukes said documents are available from the DHEC Web site at www.scdhec.gov/eqc/lwm/html/public.asp. Comments from the public will be accepted at the meeting, via telephone, letter, fax or e-mail until Oct. 10. All comments must include the person’s address and other contact information.
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For more information:
Thom Berry – (803) 898-3885
E-mail – berrytw@dhec.sc.gov
BNR1798